29/09/2015
The Institute came together today to celebrate its achievement in gaining a Silver Athena SWAN award. The award was officially unveiled by Professor Jackie Hunter, Chief Executive of BBSRC, following her ‘My life in science’ presentation to Institute staff. The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing women’s careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) in higher education and research. The Babraham Institute, which is strategically funded by the BBSRC, is only the second research institute to ever receive a silver award on first application. Professor Jackie Hunter, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: "I'm delighted to be visiting the Babraham Institute to officially unveil its Silver Athena SWAN award. Delivering equality of opportunity for women in science is incredibly important and it's great to see the BBSRC strategically-funded Babraham Institute recognised for its work in this area." Silver awards recognise the existing good practices in place by an organisation and a plan to build on these to further progress equal opportunities. The official unveiling of the silver award is also marked by the Institute making its application document and action plan available online. The documents can both be accessed from the Institute’s Athena SWAN page. The application was led by Dr Anne Corcoran, research group leader, and supported by an Institute-wide self-assessment team. Dr Anne Corcoran said: “We are very proud to have received this Silver Award, made possible by the Babraham Institute’s long-standing commitment to career progression for all scientific staff, and by the dedication and enthusiasm of our Self Assessment Team. We look forward to implementing our ambitious Action Plan to make Babraham an even better place for women scientists to do world-class science. Our actions to promote equal opportunities at the Institute will feed directly into the LIBRA project which officially launches this week. LIBRA is a joint initiative with nine other European Research Institutes in our EU-LIFE consortium to share best practices and develop Gender Equality Plans across Europe, funded by Horizon 2020.” The ‘My life in science‘ seminar series invites established figures in life sciences research reflect back on their careers, their decisions and people who influenced them. The seminars offer insights into common issues encountered when pursuing a research career such as balancing family commitments and career progression.
Babraham Institute gains Silver Athena SWAN Award
29 September 2015